Scleroderma is a connective tissue disorder that causes skin thickening and hardening. Currently, there's no cure for scleroderma, and treatments focus on symptom relief and slowing disease progression.
Skin Sclerosis - Methodology
Species: rats, mice
Bleomycin, daily subcutaneous injections
Timeline: in-life phase 4 weeks, total 7 weeks
Skin Sclerosis - Readouts & Application
Readouts:
Histological evaluation of skin fibrosis
Skin collagen and hydroxyproline concentrations
TGFβ1 expression
Application:
This model mimics important aspects of human scleroderma, including inflammation that initiates a fibrotic response. This model is designed for evaluating the efficacy of new drug candidates.